Call me sarcastic, but the latest heralding of good times by the Kansas City Chiefs is the trade for New England backup QB, Matt Cassel, and I find myself shaking my head again. He's the new "savior," and if you listen closely to the music spinning up that it's the same old record played ad nauseum. "New blood comin' in, Gonna be fun again..." complete with BOW-chika-BOW BOW '70's kitsch was what we heard pre disco.
This is not a slap at Mr. Cassel or his abilities, but for almost 40 years the Chiefs have been in some kind of "rebuilding" mode. Usually it starts with a quarterback controversy followed by the firing of the coach, to acquiring/drafting the new "savior" QB, to " we're rebuilding" with a new coach only to have the "new" QB not quite work out...and the cycle starts all over again. Under "jolly" Jack Steadman's watch, the glass was always half empty. As long as the stadium was full, Chiefs' gear was being bought, sky boxes were sold and season tickets were at a premium, the carrot of "next year" would be continually dangled. But when there was a fan outcry, or outrage, with plenty of empty seats, too many leftover season tickets, and the "same old/same old" not working too well, did Lamar Hunt step in and want some "changes." So Carl Peterson came in. Under "king" Carl Peterson's tenure, the glass was always half full. We were always one, maybe two players away from making it over the top. After Lin Elliot, it was "if only we had a decent kicker..." If the Defense was good, the Offense sucked. If the Offense was good, then the Defense would suck. But like Jolly Jack, with King Carl, as long as the stadium was full, Chiefs' gear was being bought, sky boxes were sold and season tickets were at a premium, the carrot of "next year" was continually dangled. And, under King Carl, we won more playoff games then we had in previous decades. So far the Chiefs average about 1 playoff win per decade. The Chiefs were usually "one, and done." So much for the second attempt at the "glory years."
How much "rebuilding" does any team need? After a while, should it be done? Other teams seemed to find ways to get it done in a few years. In the 39 years since the Chiefs won the Superbowl, Pittsburgh made it 7 times, won 6. Dallas made it 8 times, won 5, the 49ers made 5 for 5...see a pattern? Even the hated Broncos and Raiders made it multiple times to the "big dance," and won some to boot! The teams that WANT championships generally win them.
So Chiefs' fans! How about a QB litany! Mike Livingston, Tony Adams, Tom Clements, Todd Blackledge, Steve Fuller, Bill Kenney, Ron Jaworski, Steve Deberg, Dave Kreig, Steve Bono, Rich Gannon, Elvis Grbac, Brodie Croyle, Damon Huard...kind of stings, doesn't it? As for Joe Montana, he really wasn't a Chief. Face it, he was always a 49er. But I did love watching him play the 2 years he wore the "other" red jersey. And Bill Kenney DID become a part of the community, and it has been appreciated. And Trent Green came the closest to trying to fit in, like Lenny did. I really hated the way the organization and "Sperman" Herman treated him.
And there is a part of me that hopes Matt Cassel is the next "Len Dawson." But I keep having visions of Steve Bono instead. I hope Mr. Cassel tries to be a part of the community. We need a new "Mr. Cool," like Dawson was, and to his credit, how Len Dawson became an important part of the Kansas City landscape.
But let's face it...it ain't Todd Haley or Scott Pioli. It all sits squarely with Clark Hunt. He's the boss, and everyone else is an employee. In the end, if he wants to win, so will the Chiefs. If not...BOW-chika-BOW BOW "New blood comin' in, Gonna be fun again(clik)... again(clik)... again(clik)... again(clik)... again(clik)... again(clik)..."
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
All that we see or seem...
March is here. I hear a cardinal outside singing his heart out. Another rough February is behind me, although this one was mild by comparison.
Fighting through this funk to draw more has been daunting, but I keep telling myself I've been drawing more than in the past. It seems that with the arm and hand surgeries, the knee surgeries, etc., that I just lost my "umpf!" It's hard to get it back.
I've been having really weird dreams of late. Surrealistic, for the most part. Crazy things. But every now and then, I have a dream that feels differently, like it has a grounding in reality.
A few years ago, I had one like that. Very real. Too real. I was going to take my daughters to their first day of the school year. Why that would be strange is that I only have one daughter, and she would've been 20/21 at the time. These were 2 "extra" children. My wife and I talked about having 4 when we were engaged and first married. We ended up with 3--2 boys and a girl. In the "dream," we not only had the real 3, but had spawned 2 more. Their names are "Megan" and "Emily."
We were also living in Maryville, MO in the house my folks used to own, an older house with lots of old oak decorations on the inside and stained glass windows. I'd always thought a wedding at that house would've been beautiful with the bride descending the great oak staircase with the huge stained glass window behind her.
I've always teased my kids. Given them a certain amount of crap. Even the kids I've worked with through the years have gotten a lot of ribbing. They all seemed to know it was in good fun, and some even learned how to "give it back," which I always found refreshing. My daughter, Rachel, has a deadpan "Why are you giving me crap?" expression coupled with a gleam in her eye of "I'll be deciding which rest home you'll be going to." In my dream, "Emily" was giving me the same look as I was teasing her about going to her first days at junior high school. I remember reaching out and lightly pinching her on the face, tweaking her cheek and saying "Don't you look cute today!" That really got me a deathray stare from her. I've never had the sensation of touch in a dream, except for this one. Oh, I've seen and heard things. Have had the sensation of falling. But this one was all 1st person point of view. I told both my wife and daughter about this particular dream, which, sadly, I've never had again. They both looked at each other, then laughed, and said I was going off the deep end. My wife was intrigued that we had more kids. I'm not sure Rachel would've enjoyed more siblings. At times, I have a sense of sadness. Loss. Maybe it's just part of the melancholy I need to get out of. But it was all so real.
Lately, when my wife is talking to the new puppies, she's given them middle names. She's been calling Daisy, "Daisy Megan," and Sally, "Sally Emily." Says they are our "2 other kids," but that doesn't seem right to me.
Fighting through this funk to draw more has been daunting, but I keep telling myself I've been drawing more than in the past. It seems that with the arm and hand surgeries, the knee surgeries, etc., that I just lost my "umpf!" It's hard to get it back.
I've been having really weird dreams of late. Surrealistic, for the most part. Crazy things. But every now and then, I have a dream that feels differently, like it has a grounding in reality.
A few years ago, I had one like that. Very real. Too real. I was going to take my daughters to their first day of the school year. Why that would be strange is that I only have one daughter, and she would've been 20/21 at the time. These were 2 "extra" children. My wife and I talked about having 4 when we were engaged and first married. We ended up with 3--2 boys and a girl. In the "dream," we not only had the real 3, but had spawned 2 more. Their names are "Megan" and "Emily."
We were also living in Maryville, MO in the house my folks used to own, an older house with lots of old oak decorations on the inside and stained glass windows. I'd always thought a wedding at that house would've been beautiful with the bride descending the great oak staircase with the huge stained glass window behind her.
I've always teased my kids. Given them a certain amount of crap. Even the kids I've worked with through the years have gotten a lot of ribbing. They all seemed to know it was in good fun, and some even learned how to "give it back," which I always found refreshing. My daughter, Rachel, has a deadpan "Why are you giving me crap?" expression coupled with a gleam in her eye of "I'll be deciding which rest home you'll be going to." In my dream, "Emily" was giving me the same look as I was teasing her about going to her first days at junior high school. I remember reaching out and lightly pinching her on the face, tweaking her cheek and saying "Don't you look cute today!" That really got me a deathray stare from her. I've never had the sensation of touch in a dream, except for this one. Oh, I've seen and heard things. Have had the sensation of falling. But this one was all 1st person point of view. I told both my wife and daughter about this particular dream, which, sadly, I've never had again. They both looked at each other, then laughed, and said I was going off the deep end. My wife was intrigued that we had more kids. I'm not sure Rachel would've enjoyed more siblings. At times, I have a sense of sadness. Loss. Maybe it's just part of the melancholy I need to get out of. But it was all so real.
Lately, when my wife is talking to the new puppies, she's given them middle names. She's been calling Daisy, "Daisy Megan," and Sally, "Sally Emily." Says they are our "2 other kids," but that doesn't seem right to me.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Dibble dribble...
I did some warm up sketches to get on the move for the "Pastor Dibble" comic strip I've been noodlin' on. My first "church lothario" didn't fit, so I tried again...
I like that one better. A bit more smarmy.
And I thought about, for future strips, the other folks the Dibbles would interact with, such as another church lady. Probably the one that Bailey would commiserate with...
I've had positive reaction, for the most part, to Bailey and the fact that she is curvy and attractive. I have a strip in mind with her exercising at home to stay in shape. Here she is doing some cardiovascular kick boxing moves...
Lastly, my wife and I went "antiquing" as it were on Presidents' Day. Call it a mini-roadtrip. At one of the booths at the Jesse James Antique Mall outside St. Joseph, MO, I found a Lenn Redman caricature. From his bio on Wikipedia, he had quite a long career in animation, and did a lot of caricaturing. I knew about him from his book on caricaturing, so I recognized the signature. Here's the "treasure" I found...
Be good!
I like that one better. A bit more smarmy.
And I thought about, for future strips, the other folks the Dibbles would interact with, such as another church lady. Probably the one that Bailey would commiserate with...
I've had positive reaction, for the most part, to Bailey and the fact that she is curvy and attractive. I have a strip in mind with her exercising at home to stay in shape. Here she is doing some cardiovascular kick boxing moves...
Lastly, my wife and I went "antiquing" as it were on Presidents' Day. Call it a mini-roadtrip. At one of the booths at the Jesse James Antique Mall outside St. Joseph, MO, I found a Lenn Redman caricature. From his bio on Wikipedia, he had quite a long career in animation, and did a lot of caricaturing. I knew about him from his book on caricaturing, so I recognized the signature. Here's the "treasure" I found...
Be good!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
the hypocritic oath...
Okay. I have a confession to make. For the past 3 weeks, we have had 2 new "additions" to our family. Their names are "Daisy" and "Sally."
I had/have been in a funk ever since Christmas and Bosco's passing. My boss at Worlds of Fun put on what he calls, "Cripple Con," named so after his freak illness from 2007. It was an artists' gathering in mid-January at Excelsior Springs, MO, and I'd signed up to be there. On the Saturday of the event, I finally got up enough "umpf" to go, but wanted to take a distracting detour to improve my mood...visit a pet store just to look around. When we got to the pet store, there were 2 West Highland White Terrier puppies in the display. One of them was quite animated, and my wife had always wanted one. We asked the clerk if we could see her, and I could tell my wife was "hooked." Didn't know if I was up for it, though.
When the animated one was let loose, then the other one got to fussing. Kind of a "hey, what about me?" kind of thing. The boss lady of the store came up to us and said if we liked that pup, and bought it, she'd give us the other pup for nothing. Two for one! Bargains are always a plus to my wife. I said we'd think about it, hoping common sense would prevail.
On the way to Excelsior Springs, we talked about it, and decided we'd take the plunge. While in an earlier post, I'd said we have been "recycling" pets by going to the local animal shelters, I have to now apologize for my hypocrisy. But they are cute. The payback, though, is I haven't house broken a dog for well over 25 years. Trust me. I'm being well punished for it. But...here's Daisy...
...and here's Sally...
Getting pics of them has been difficult as they seem to be constantly moving. There are exceptions, but use of a camera wouldn't be prudent. Yesterday while taking my morning "constitutional" with my pants down around my ankles...we have no privacy now at all...Sally fell asleep curled up in my underwear. I know...TMI! Here's another pic of my daughter trying to hold them so we could get a picture...
Since this is supposed to be an "art blog," I'll post a drawing. One of the kids I taught caricaturing, Alexandria(Alex), has me draw her mother each year. I'm amazed and flattered she wants me to, but admit a certain devilish glee. The first year I drew her mom, I drew her as a sexy mermaid. This shocked Alex, and even more when her mother liked the drawing! So four years later, she still brings her mom to the park, and here's how this year's sketch turned out...
...and a close up of the sketch...
I normally hate my park sketches, but this one didn't turn out too badly.
Lates!
I had/have been in a funk ever since Christmas and Bosco's passing. My boss at Worlds of Fun put on what he calls, "Cripple Con," named so after his freak illness from 2007. It was an artists' gathering in mid-January at Excelsior Springs, MO, and I'd signed up to be there. On the Saturday of the event, I finally got up enough "umpf" to go, but wanted to take a distracting detour to improve my mood...visit a pet store just to look around. When we got to the pet store, there were 2 West Highland White Terrier puppies in the display. One of them was quite animated, and my wife had always wanted one. We asked the clerk if we could see her, and I could tell my wife was "hooked." Didn't know if I was up for it, though.
When the animated one was let loose, then the other one got to fussing. Kind of a "hey, what about me?" kind of thing. The boss lady of the store came up to us and said if we liked that pup, and bought it, she'd give us the other pup for nothing. Two for one! Bargains are always a plus to my wife. I said we'd think about it, hoping common sense would prevail.
On the way to Excelsior Springs, we talked about it, and decided we'd take the plunge. While in an earlier post, I'd said we have been "recycling" pets by going to the local animal shelters, I have to now apologize for my hypocrisy. But they are cute. The payback, though, is I haven't house broken a dog for well over 25 years. Trust me. I'm being well punished for it. But...here's Daisy...
...and here's Sally...
Getting pics of them has been difficult as they seem to be constantly moving. There are exceptions, but use of a camera wouldn't be prudent. Yesterday while taking my morning "constitutional" with my pants down around my ankles...we have no privacy now at all...Sally fell asleep curled up in my underwear. I know...TMI! Here's another pic of my daughter trying to hold them so we could get a picture...
Since this is supposed to be an "art blog," I'll post a drawing. One of the kids I taught caricaturing, Alexandria(Alex), has me draw her mother each year. I'm amazed and flattered she wants me to, but admit a certain devilish glee. The first year I drew her mom, I drew her as a sexy mermaid. This shocked Alex, and even more when her mother liked the drawing! So four years later, she still brings her mom to the park, and here's how this year's sketch turned out...
...and a close up of the sketch...
I normally hate my park sketches, but this one didn't turn out too badly.
Lates!
Monday, February 9, 2009
some colors!...
I just got these from Brian Miller. Here's what he did for the colors on the "Sherlock Hound" and "Tommi Trek battling the Mummies" pieces. Click on the images to see a larger view...
I hope you like...
I hope you like...
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Has it been a year since I started this?...
It could be! It all seems to have flown by quickly. Getting older really does suck. And I'm not the most organized person in the world. I found a page I started to do a "horror" strip with...FINALLY. And in the time I searched I probably could've just re-drawn the thing. Too much clutter.
But I found some other stuff, as well. This image is a sketch from another project, and since it didn't fly then, it seems I could use it in "Dibble." Probably for the church "lothario."
This one is of me...a bit of a "horror" caricature. Never thought of myself as THAT creepy, but I'm sure someone thinks differently...
An old friend from days past contacted me about doing some character designs and such for a pitch. I've been doing some faces to get back into the swing, using his descriptions to see what I come up with. Here are some of them...
Gotta go!
But I found some other stuff, as well. This image is a sketch from another project, and since it didn't fly then, it seems I could use it in "Dibble." Probably for the church "lothario."
This one is of me...a bit of a "horror" caricature. Never thought of myself as THAT creepy, but I'm sure someone thinks differently...
An old friend from days past contacted me about doing some character designs and such for a pitch. I've been doing some faces to get back into the swing, using his descriptions to see what I come up with. Here are some of them...
Gotta go!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Ouch! It's February already?...
Haven't forgotten about this blog. And I promise to have more up tomorrow. But to prove I have gotten off my duff, and FINALLY started on Pastor Dibble, here's a taste...
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
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